Christine McVie, Fleetwood Mac singer-songwriter, dies at 79

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NBC News

I am surprised there is no reaction here to this news. The usual thing to do when somebody dies is pay tribute. While not “speaking ill of the dead” what follows is not a tribute either.

The 60s and 70s were such a creative varied period there probably is not one iconic baby boomer/60s generation band, but if there is one Fleetwood Mac is it. Their 1977 album Rumours is one the best selling albums of all time. At the time many songs from the album were big hits, constantly played on both album rock and Top 40 stations. 45 years on and they are still a constant “radio” presence.

The songs reflected their dealing with the ongoing real life sexual and drug soap opera going on among band members which was well publicized at the time. They were experiences that resonated with many of their “free love” era peers now that the 60s were over and the consequences were being felt. Add to that the songs were extremely well crafted and pleasing to the ears. It would be unfair to say they were just a 70s band, they had hits throughout the 80s and one does not get to be so massively popular by appealing to one demographic.

Why they are so popular among non boomers, well you will have to ask them. Resonate is not what they did for me. At the time self involved songs about failed hippie experiments was the exact thing I and most others into “punk/new wave” were trying to be the opposite of.

I can’t say when their songs come on I got to immediately hit the skip button. Those songs are just background, in one ear, out the other.

I hope she didn’t feel pain in her passing away.

Fleetwood was unique in being both male and female, in both upfront performing talent, and in the behind creative talent. Both boys and girls sang. And both boys and girls wrote the songs. Men and women were atleast equal (in fact Nicks, and McVie kinda upstaged a bit). It just fell together that way by happenstance-nobody planned it that way. So the songs on their albums had one the other or both genders voices (both literal singing voices, and both genders povs).

Other bands were somewhat coed. The Mamas and Papas combined male and female voices, but the songs were all written one male band member. The Jefferson Airplane/Starship had a female lead singer, but was mostly male. No other major band I am aware of were quite as thoroughly coed as Fleetwood Mac in its heyday. And they had the real life soap operatic emotional turmoil to show for the gender mix too. And that all became grist for their songwriting too.

Her death came just a fortnight after we Americans started hearing one of her hits on a TV commercial. That ad in which folks riding in cars start breaking out into singing along with her to "I just wanna be with you everywhere". So she lived just long enough to see her work get prostituted by Madison Avenue! What an honor!

Big fan of the new wave in the 1970s. I discovered Fleetwood Mac the same time as Cat Stevens, ELO, Earth Wind and Fire and Peter Gabriel.

To be fair though, Christine McVie had a good life for 79 years. RIP.

Still writing great tunes until the end.



RIP